Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) received a $100,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the Spring of 2010 to distribute Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) in remote rural areas throughout Colorado. In rural areas where travel time to hospital intervention is often lengthy due to vast distances, mountainous terrain and/or weather hazards, early use of AEDs on heart attack victims has been shown to save lives. In Summit County this summer, a patient’s life was saved after Summit County Ambulance Service first responder personnel used an in-vehicle AED on a heart attack victim in a local restaurant.

Through the HRSA grant funding, CRHC issued a total of 54 AEDs and accessories to Colorado’s Regional Emergency Trauma Advisory Councils (RETAC) who in turn placed the AEDs in strategic public locations in their rural regions. In addition, many of the RETACs purchased and distributed additional AEDs in the community with their own funds. Each AED is valued between $1,350 & $1,500 per unit depending on accessories ordered.

CRHC has been the recipient of similar AED grant programs through HRSA in the past, and over 500 AEDs have been placed over the past several years. This year’s funding allows communities to continue to ensure all first response agencies such as ambulance services, fire departments, and law enforcement vehicles have the devices, and also allows for strategic placement of AEDs in additional public priority areas such as public parks and community centers.

In spite of these federal grant programs to purchase AEDs, immediate access to an AED is still an issue in many rural communities. CRHC is committed to continue to look for grant and funding opportunities to increase access to the devices in rural areas. For questions regarding this grant program, please contact Ron Seedorf at rs@coruralhealth.org.